The Mule Fan

LOOKING BACK:

CLARK SLIPS PAST HEIGHTS

It seems that it hadn't rained in San Antonio since Davy Crockett ducked behind that big rock building in downtown San Antonio and realized that there wasn't a back door. No measurable rain had fallen in about six months, so surely we wouldn't get rain on Friday Night Football in Texas!!! Actually, in hindsight, there were a few drops of rain before the Stony Point game...about the time Wendell Hall was attempting to slip on Sam's jersey. Fortunately, there were no picture re-takes before the Clark game but we could've used those jerseys as a cover-up for the three hours of constant drizzle that fell at Harry B. Orem Stadium, starting just at kickoff and continuing throughout the game. So I guess we're really NOT living in a bubble, no matter what everyone else thinks. That being said, the Mule Fan noticed that Gucci umbrellas and Polo rain jackets were put to use immediately with a few fancy watches tucked into safe, dry locations. The Mules lined up to face the 5A Clark Cougars. The Cougars came into the game ranked 3rd in the City in 5A and 16th in the State, according to one poll. Though the game fell on the Friday of Labor Day weekend, a good crowd showed up braced for the rain and the Cougars. Even hunting season (apparently the national sport of 09 as this transplant to South Texas quickly learned) did not keep everyone away from Mules football.

Before the game summary, a note for you readers new to the Mule Fan this year. Your co-authors decided early on, as we began our writing last season, that we would report only the positive aspects of the game and not focus on the problems and mistakes. These coaches and boys spend a tremendous amount of time preparing for 10 football games. You want to talk about long hours preparing for an event? Ask one of the coaches (these guys are human and very approachable) what kind of hours they put in all year, and especially during the season..there's no such thing as a weekend or a day off. And the boys pour out their hearts all year hoping equally for perfect execution. But that doesn't always happen in spite of the best effort. It's never one play or one series or one call, so let's get that out of the way.

The Cougars won the toss and deferred to the second half. The Mules lined up and the P.A. announcer indicated the Greenbauer and Jones were back to return the kickoff for the Mules. The announcer let us know that Jones returned the kickoff for the Mules to the 25. Recalling pretty certainly that the son of one of the Mule Fan writers normally is back for the kickoffs, the Mule Fan quickly flipped through the rain-soaked program and pulled apart the pages before realizing those were the two stars for the Cougars and that was NOT Rick Shaw in the announcers booth. It seems that not enough folks showed up at La Fonda (another plug) so Rick decided to boycott the game, eat dinner at the Alamo Heights pool grill (his second favorite place) and get back at the Mule faithful for the lack of patronizing (another plug for Rick) by switching the team names on the pages of the program before sending his nervous substitute up to the press box. The error was quickly fixed when a fan from Row 26 threw a new program into the booth.

The Mules looked sharp on their opening drive. With a steady rain, the Mules elected to keep the ball on the ground and the Mules drove 60 yards on the ground with running by Justin Rosenthal and Cullen Mills. This drive was impressive....this drive was 100% successful because your Mules offensive line looked fantastic. Everyone notices the glory positions on offense-quarterback, running back and receiver....but folks, nothing happens without the line. The offensive line is clearly one of the best in the City and without them fighting in the trenches, none of this happens. While many rotate in and out, the starters--Morton-Gonzaba, Wernette, Egger, Golden, Cohen and Cantu/Hagar were terrific all night. The 8 minute drive stalled at the 20 and a missed field goal gave the ball to Clark at their own 20. The defense held Clark on its first possession with many key plays including a big hit for Jonathan "where did he come from this year" Barshop. The Clark punt rolled into the end zone and after a penalty the Mules started at their own 10. Stephen Elder came in for the next series to get some valuable game time experience. A turnover by the Mules gave Clark great field position at the Mules 20 as the first quarter ended.


The second quarter started with a penalty against the Mules and soon Clark had a first and goal at the 5. During this series, the Mules defense showed the tremendous potential they have for the season. For the second game in a row, the defense was awesome in the red-zone (Jill.....that means a team is real close to scoring). Big hits by Sandoval and Thurmond left the Cougars with third and goal at the 5. That's when terrific pressure on Greenbauer (the talented senior who has committed to SMU) forced him to throw into coverage where Phillip Massari stepped in front of the pass and returned the ball to the 42. The next Mules drive stalled and the Stern kick into the end zone gave Clark the ball at their 20. Running Back Jones then gave the Mules a preview of what was to come in the second half, with a couple key runs. The drive ended on the Mules 35, when Clark's 4th and 7 run was snuffed out by Mike Warren, who, as always, was around the ball all evening. With the ball, the Mules then went to the air. Mills found Clark Hudnall for 22 yards and then Trevor Lovelady for another completion before Rosenthal found daylight behind his line and cut back for a 21 yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead after the extra point. Jones (yes, it really was Jones this time) returned the kickoff to the 47 but the defense held AGAIN to end the half with the Mules up 7-0.


Clark clearly made adjustments at halftime and it was evidenced quickly after Jones kickoff return set up the Cougars at the 3. Jones and Greenbauer ran behind their huge line. The Clark offensive line is one of the biggest the Mules will face this year. The Clark line averages 260 pounds and holding Clark to 33 first half yards was an incredible showing by the Mules defense. This drive was different, as Greenbauer and Jones exploded for big yardage and with 2 1/2 minutes gone in the third quarter, the game was tied at 7. The Cougar pooch kick gave the Mules the ball at the 25. Early in the drive, Mills showed his skill as he stepped up past the rush and found Forrest Hagar for a 47 yard strike. Run, Forrest, Run (c'mon...we all want to say that, don't we?). David Garza's awesome catch was good for another Alamo Heights...First Down(seriously Rick...couldn't you have written that phrase in big letters taped on the glass inside the announcer booth?). The missed field goal gave the ball back to Clark, but the Cougar drive stalled quickly and Car-Car Thurmond's punt return set the Mules up at the 40. On 3rd and 10, Mills found Cabell for 14 and later Mills found Bryson Marshall on another key third down pass. Rosenthal then picked up yardage on the ground--aided by Cohen's scoop of a loose ball (Egger, later in the game, had a drive saving pounce)--and behind Golden and Wernette, he carried it in from the one. The hard drizzle again caused a miscue and the extra point bounced off the goal post. Mules 13-7. Clark took the kickoff and, unfortunately Greenbauer and Jones took off again with big runs to end the quarter.

In the fourth, the Cougars moved the ball and with a 4th and 3 at the Mules 45, the play of the night occurred when Jones broke to the outside for 30 yards to the Mules 15. Shortly after that, Greenbauer took it in from the one.The "5A Gods" must've been with Clark, because the Cougar extra point bounced off the goal post and somehow went through. Amazing, but unfortunately 14-13 Cougars. The Mules were down, but not out yet. The Mules drove on the ground and in the air for another 50 yards including the a long pass to Garza and a catch by Hudnall while being hit by a Clark defender who apparently thought Hudnall no longer needed his helmet---the catch of the game. However, the Mules drive stalled and the ball went back to the Cougars. Clark, starting at its 25, ran out the clock...much to the dismay of your Mules and all of their fans.

A lot of bright spots for the Mules on this night. The Mules lined up and played with a great 5A team from the beginning to the end. The Mules had more first downs and more total yardage than the Cougars. The defense played terrific in the first half and, except for two long offensive series, held the potent Cougar offense in check. The rain certainly played into the game plan of both teams and execution on both sides of the ball. At least in the eyes of the Mule Fan, your Mules outplayed Clark but the final score will record this as a loss. Tough game, well played and very entertaining for all.

Photos courtesy of Mary Candee www.dulcedesigns.photoreflect.com
Your Personal Photographer
Your Community Photographer
Dulce Design Photography
In fact here's an action shot of Mary between action shots. Thanks for your support of the Mule Fan Mary!

LOOKING AHEAD:

LAREDO UNITED LONGHORNS---7:00 p.m. Thursday night

Okay. Round Rock Stony Point is picked to win District 16-5A this year. Clark is picked to win District 28-5A. At least we're done with playing big 5A schools predicted to finish at or near the top of their district.

Oh, never mind. The Laredo United Longhorns have as many students as Stony Point (over 3000) and are predicted to finish second in District 29-5A, just behind San Antonio Southwest. The Mules had better be careful this week as the Longhorns will remember last year's game in San Antonio. For those of you who don't recall, Brent Marshall and a few others went down to the Texas coast to board up their coast house for the oncoming hurricane. Allegedly, Brent looked at the skies, called Jennifer Broome back in San Antonio and reported that this thing was gonna be bad for South Texas. Immediately, the entire high school football schedule was changed, forcing Laredo United, at the very last minute, to move their road trip to San Antonio from Friday to Thursday, amid utter chaos. Oh, by the way, not even a drop of rain in Laredo or San Antonio on that Friday night. In any event, Laredo United was outmatched in the game last year, and likely a bit flustered at Brent's false report.

So, turnabout is fair play. With a short Labor Day week (except for the coaches...see above), the Mules take the long trip down I-35 for a Thursday night game. Certainly, United knows that fewer fans will travel to support Alamo Heights on a Thursday than a Friday and thus the Thursday game. Unfortunately, there may be a lot of room to stretch out on the Mules side of the stands. Prove me wrong folks...show up with a carload and let the kids sleep in the car on the way home and, though you didn't hear it here...let them sleep through first and second period Friday as well???{Note:With a statement like that, we've just confirmed that this is not a school sponsored site, clearly--just kidding, get them to school on time }.

The Mules need to stay focused this week. With two tough games behind them, Laredo United will be ready to play. The Laredo United coaches have scouted, in person, both of the Mules first two games. The Longhorns return 3 on offense and 6 on defense, which should prove a challenge for the Mules offense. The Longhorns are a pass-happy offense and will be led by returning QB Tony Salas who was 252 for 408 last year(that's 40 passes a game) for 3,224 yards and 33 touchdowns. Also back is WR Rick Velasquez who caught 44 passes for 759 yards and 13 touchdowns. On defense, the Longhorns will be led by free safety Josh Garcia who had 92 tackles and linebacker Derek Hale who had 88 tackles.

While the Mules come into the game 0-2, The Longhorns have bulled (yes, pretty stupid) their way to a 1-1 start and are playing with a lot of enthusiasm. In their first game, the Longhorns led San Antonio 5A Stevens 21-14 before losing late by 10, 38-28. In that game, Laredo United ran only 11 times while passing 50 times for 439 yards. Stevens is a good ball club, just losing to Steele this past weekend. In their second game, Laredo United beat Corpus Christi Ray 38-15. United was up 31-8 at halftime and ended up running for 127 yards and passing for 300. United held Ray to 59 yards rushing on 26 carries.

The JV teams finally get to play at home, this Wednesday against Laredo United. The Freshman travel to Laredo for the same matchup on Wednesday.

Tickets on Sale Now for Laredo United and Homecoming!

The Mules need your support this Thursday in Laredo! If you don’t go you can’t use ticket price as an excuse. Tickets are on sale in advance at the high school for $5.00 and $3.00 (kinder-grade 12). All tickets are $6.00 at the stadium and no you can’t haggle at the box office. We’re playing on the US side.

Ticket selling hours this week go like this:

Tuesday 8:30-noon, then 1:30-4:00 pm in athletics office; Patty Juarez will be selling at the Muledome from 4p-7p during Volleyball.
Wednesday 8a-noon and 1:30-4p at the athletic office; then at the JV game from 4-7:30pm
Thursday from 8a-12noon and then the tickets go on the bus with the team towards the border.

Homecoming! Tickets are already on sale for the big Centennial Homecoming game against Boerne on October 2nd. Remember this is the Big Centennial Celebration game and it’s going to be a rockin’ place that night with lots of nostalgic fandom. Truly this is going to be a packed house so get your reserved seats right now. Ticket prices will not be rolled back to 1909 levels but it’ll still be good value for money and a night to remember. It’s the next home game. You can’t miss this one.

Laredo Stadium

This Thursday’s game will be played at the Student Activity Complex at 5208 Santa Claudia Lane in Laredo 78043. Get a map on Yahoo or Google Maps. If you get somebody in a green uniform asking you for your passport when you get down there then you’ll know you’ve gone too far.

Laredo Radio - Alert! There's been a station change!

For those of you not going down south this week, you can catch all the action on KEDA 1540 AM rather than ESPN 1250 AM The Zone because of a conflict. The pre-game show starts at 6:30 p.m. Ed Suarez and Dave Parker call all the action.

Twitter

The Mule Fan is also on twitter. I know there hasn’t been much there yet but c’mon this is a two way street. We’ll have some fun with it this week hopefully so sign up as a follower. www.twitter.com/mulefanblog

Write to the Mule Fan:

The editor's of the Mule Fan encourage your story ideas, firm but fair criticism (or encouragement), cold remedies and/or hourly updates of barometric pressure along the nation's major rivers. Seriously if you have something you think we should be covering or if there's an interesting story idea (actually we'll be the judge of that) then send us a note: bobcohen@sbcglobal.net and brosenthal@trpsalaw.com

Go Mules!!!

A Few Words with the Head Coach of the Mules – Don Byrd
September 7, 2009

The Mule Fan: You had to be encouraged about the Clark game. As usual the game hinges on some key plays and in this case some weather conditions as well but while we know you’re disappointed with the loss are you encouraged with the way the team fought all night?

Coach Byrd: Oh exactly but those are the kinds of games Alamo Heights needs to win. You go back and look at it and we had four key drops, two busted assignments on offense which resulted in huge plays. We missed three kicks and everybody wants to blame the kicker but we had problems with protection, snap, hold and the whole thing there so it’s a complete thing. A couple of times on defense we just didn’t have our gaps right. In any of those given areas, one or two plays in all of those categories and Alamo Heights comes back with a win. I’m proud of our effort. I’m proud of our progression but that was a team we should have beaten.

The Mule Fan: You mentioned the kicking game. No doubt the entire kicking team was frustrated. What did you say to the guys afterwards?

Coach Byrd: I just told them that the kicker gets the blame just like the quarterback does on offense but there are other areas we have to work on. We’ve worked on it more this year than we ever have before but we’re not there yet. We’ve got to get that straight. We’re blessed with a kicker with a great leg but we’ve got to do things to get that group working properly.

The Mule Fan: If you look at the result of the game on paper it says that the Clark QB Greenbauer has a big night but everybody who was there knows that the defense kept him bottled up in the first half even with their big line. The Mules rolled up some offense themselves. Did you expect it be as much of a grind-it-out game as it became and how much of that was influenced by the weather you were dealing with?

Coach Byrd: Well I wasn’t scared to throw the ball. We’ve played in conditions like that before. But we’ve really put an emphasis on our running game and Justin’s done a great job. The strength of our team right now has been our offensive line and the players that we’ve had return. So we’re going to highlight behind those guys and see where we need to go with it and they just kept getting better and better. When you’re running the ball like that it’s hard to get away from it.

The Mule Fan: You’ve talked about your priority with the running game. Do you feel you took a major step forward on Friday night with the running game?

Coach Byrd: Oh yes. If you take from the spring to the first scrimmage to Stony Point to this game I think we’re going in the right direction. I know our passing game will come around and it was fine. Besides dropping four balls there was really no problem with our passing game.

The Mule Fan: Back to the defense and the strong showing they had. What were some of the keys to the way they played on Friday?

Coach Byrd: Well we took a big step technique-wise with our front down guys. Against Stony Point we were real sloppy with our technique. But Sandoval, Salomon, McSween all the guys up front did a great job with playing the way the front should. So that protected our linebackers. Our safeties were getting more active. It’s coming together.

The Mule Fan: Our quarterbacks, Mills and Elder share some characteristics in that Elder didn’t get to play at all last year with his injury and Mills’ action was limited. Elder got a cameo appearance in the first quarter. How do you plan on using him this year and when will you look for opportunities to get him in games?

Coach Byrd: He’s a talented young man and he’s going to be a good player for Alamo Heights so we’ll try and get him in when we can. We’ve got non-district and he hasn’t even been on the field since his freshman year. So we tried to give him a series. It’s a shame that it was in the rain and down deep in our own territory. But I have all the faith in the world in Steven Elder and we’re going to have to see how things play out with him. But we need to get him out on the field when we can.

The Mule Fan: The game against Laredo United was your break-out game last year after an 0-2 start. You find yourself in that same situation and also on a Thursday night but this time on the road. What should we expect this week from Laredo United?

Coach Byrd: They’re a much improved team and they were a very good football team last year but they’re much improved. They’re a better team than Clark in a lot of areas. On defense they play a 3-3 stack and give you a lot of different blitzes and so forth so we’re going to have to be smart. They’re solid across the board. They roll a lot of players. The middle linebacker seems to be the most active. In the secondary, they do two or three different looks there. They do a great job with it. There’s really no weakness in their secondary. They all play technique well. Coach Sanchez was at Holmes and won a lot of games there. When the athlete pool went down he moved down to United and he’s on the verge of getting it going. On offense, they’ve struggled a little bit running the ball but they’re very talented throwing the ball. Their quarterback is back from last year. He was a sophomore last year and has improved tremendously. They have a couple of receivers that are big threats. The rest of them are just possession guys so it’s a solid football team. I tell you going down there and playing a team this good, Alamo Heights better be ready. Everyone says, ‘well you beat ’em bad last year’ and everybody is living off of last year’s deal and teams change. With Stony Point we had a better showing in a lot of ways and with Clark we had a better showing. But United is a much better football team.

The Mule Fan: What changes in a week where you play on a Thursday and go on a long road trip? What is lost in terms of preparation or do you just condense everything?

Coach Byrd: We condense. We have to take some things and not work on them because there’s just not enough time. You don’t want to beat the kids up and keep them on the practice field all during the week just to cover everything and then not be sharp so you have to pick and choose. You lose a couple of hours on the practice field and that’s huge especially this time of year but United is in the same boat. It’s not like they have an advantage over us. It is a tough place to play down in Laredo. Our kids are going to have to play hard, play well and overcome penalties and everything else that might happen down there.

Mule Fan Travel Log: Shopping Nuevo Laredo-“The Curious Case of Mr. Frog”

As you all know, the Mules play at Laredo United this week. In years past this might have been the kind of trip that stretched into a longer excursion including the requisite trip to Nuevo Laredo (if it was being played on a Friday night that is). Since the Alamo Heights Centennial logo doesn’t look so good embroidered on a Kevlar vest, nobody is likely to go over. It will be all business at the game and then outta there.

But we can reminisce. One of the sheer pleasures of shopping the streets and markets of Nuevo Laredo was the unique treasures one could find. Oh yes, there were and presumably still are treasures like glasses and pitchers shaped like cactus, mariachi marionettes playing guitar (big ones), onyx chess sets, funny smelling leather goods and more gum than one could ever hope to chew. None were more unique though than the incredible variety of inanimate representations of what must have been a master race of bullfrogs.

Do you remember them? Stuffed bull frogs playing pool, playing the accordion or the saxophone or even the kettle drum from time to time, dealing cards, tending bar, bull frog archers, bull riders, fry cooks, and the list goes on and on. If that wasn’t strange enough there was the additional mysterious realization that they were always at leisure weren’t they? You’d be hard pressed to see a stuffed bull frog bank teller or a frog drawing up a blueprint or changing a tire.

So since it’s risky to go and safely collect these treasures these days, the Mule Fan decided to do some hard research to try and understand the evolution of this curious slimy creature, a race which, while gone now, seemed to have a great time while they were here.

We reached the foremost expert on the subject, Dr. Ann Phibian (who incidentally was born in a leap year).

The Mule Fan: Dr. Phibian, what happened to the frogs? It seems that the bull frog’s descendants are still around but you never catch them in these poses that depicts a fun-loving world until they’re stuffed and on a store shelf. Did it really happen?

Dr. Phibian: Well it is believed that they partied too much and that did them in. They weren’t very productive. Partied all night and hung out at their pad all day.

The Mule Fan: But I think I saw a stuffed frog eye doctor once doing an exam on another frog. Surely they got down to business once in a while.

Dr. Phibian: It was a fake. Think about it, the eye chart was directly in front of the chair. Ever seen a frog’s eyes? They’re on the side. No way they could read that chart if it was in front of them. It is believed though that they fished commercially from time to time.

The Mule Fan: Really? What did they use for bait?

Dr. Phibian: Croaker mostly.

The Mule Fan: Not to jump to conclusions but how could they have earned a living to pay for all this recreation?

Dr. Phibian: That’s the problem. You’ve seen them right? Deep pockets but very short arms. So it became a barter economy.

The Mule Fan: Ahh yes. How about ribet, err I mean debit cards? Would that help?

Dr. Phibian: No they were too short to reach the machines.

The Mule Fan: Couldn’t they leap up to the machines?

Dr. Phibian: Not enough hang time to run the card I suppose. And even if they could, what about the signature?

The Mule Fan: I see your point Dr. Phibian. They must not have been as hoppy, errr happy as they seemed to be as stuffed frogs.

Dr. Phibian: Exactly. You’ve heard of the song “Froggy Mountain Breakdown?” This was their cry for help.

The Mule Fan: Dr. Phibian you are a wealth of knowledge about frogs and stuff. Do you know much about Mules?

Dr. Phibian: It’s a hunting vehicle right?

The Mule Fan: Nope it’s a feisty bunch of football players from Alamo Heights with their eyes on a victory over Laredo United this week.

Dr. Phibian: That’s toadally awesome!

The Mule Fan: Doctor, thanks for your time. It’s been ribeting err I mean riveting.